Separable fastener



Nov. 7,1933. c. B. MURPHY SEPARABLE FASTENER Filed Aug. 22. 1930 IN'VENTOR.

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Patented Nov. 7, 1933 PATENT OFFICE SEPARABLE FASTENER Charles B. Murphy, Meadville, Pa., assignor to Hookless Fastener Company, a corporation of Pennsylvania Application August 22, 1930. Serial No. 477,062

5 Claims.

My invention relates to receptacle closures and particularly to that class of closures which has come to be commonly known as slide fasteners.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide an improved closure of the type mentioned which can be opened from either end to permit access to any portion ofa receptacle as desired.

In slide fasteners as commercially manufactured, the fastener elements are progressively engaged or disengaged by movement of a slider and the opening movement must always be in a definite direction in relation to the arrangement of fastener elements. This is true of fasteners of the general type disclosed in the patent to Gideon Sundback, No. 1,219,881, March 20,

In another class of fasteners, the fastener elements are so designed that the slider of the fastener could be positioned at either end, a good example of which is found in the patent to Perrault No. 1,571,095, January 26, 1926, and the pending application of Gideon Sundback, Serial No. 735,574, filed September 3, 1924. It has, however, never been proposed to place a plurality of sliders on a single series of such elements to enable the fastener to be opened at a plurality of points and it is therefore the object of my invention to provide a fastening device embodying a plurality of sliders to enable the fastener to be opened at a plurality of points while the remaining por tions of the fastener are closed.

The advantages of my novel fastening device will be evident in a large class of uses to which fasteners of this type may be applied. In receptacle closures for example, it may frequently be desirable to obtain access to one end' of the receptacle while the other remains close'd, and at other times it may be desirable to secure access to the oposite end of the receptacle. In clothing also it is believed that there will be found useful applications for my invention. For example, in overalls or childrens garments it frequently becomes necessary to use two fasteners or some special construction in order to obtain access to the interior of the lower portion of the garment without unfastening the whole front of the garment. With my invention, it will be noted that a single fastener may be used and the lower slider can be manipulated to obtain a limited opening at that point and the upper slider can be used when it is desired to remove or fasten the entire front of the garment.

Other objects and uses of the invention will readily occur to those familiar with the uses of this general type of fastener.

(Cl. 24g-205) In the accompanying drawing I have shown for purposes of illustration, one embodiment which my invention may assume in practice. In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a fastening device em- 60 bodying my invention. r

Fig. 2 is a transverse section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

ig. 3 is a plan view of a portion of the fastener on an enlarged scale.

Fig. 4 is a view of a part of a golf bag illustrating one use of my invention. v

In illustrating my invention, I have shown a fastener similar to that disclosed in the above mentioned Sundback pending application and it is not deemed necessary at this point, to describe in great detail, the construction and operation of the fastener.

A pair of fabric stringers 6 and 'l have attached to their adjacent longitudinal edges, a continu- 475 ous series of cooperating fastener elements 8 and 9 adapted to be progressively interlocked or disengaged, and at the ends of said series` of elements, U -shaped stop members l0. As noted in Fig. 3, each of the fastener elements have gen-` erally arrow-shaped heads ll, with projections 12 extending on opposite sides which t into and interlock with sockets 13 formed behind the projections of the opposite series. It will thus be seen that each of these elements is symmetrical S5 about a plane through the center of the element perpendicular to the plane of the fastener stringers. Thus the elements are adapted to be progressively engaged or disengaged in either direction of the series.

For controlling the engagement and disengagement of the fastener elements, there are employed a plurality of sliders 14 and 15 which in the closed position of the fastener, are located at opposite ends of the series of elements. The sliders are conveniently actuated by attached pull members 16 and either of them may be moved over substantially the entire series of elements.

Referring to Fig-2 for the construction of one of these sliders, it will be noted that the same comprises a pair of wings 17 and 18 on opposite sides of the fastener elements, such wings being provided with flanges 18a. A pull attaching lug 19 is formed on one of the wings in any suitable manner. The operation of a` slider of this type is well known and it will be suicient here to say that the'fastener elements are guided through the Y-shaped channel defined by the flanges 18 which brings the elements together at an angle to each other and when they are straightened out, they are interlocked securely until the slider is again moved in the opposite direction to open the fastener. It will be noted that the fastener can thus be opened from either end and the movement of each slider is limited only by the position of the opposite slider.

It is usual in fasteners of this type, to provide a permanent connecting link for the stringers at one end or a separable connecting device. With my invention, however, the stringers are made separable at both ends and stop members can be ofthe same construction at both ends of the series of elements.

'Ifhe golf bag shown in Fig. 4 exemplifies the use of my invention. It comprises a container 21 for golf balls and one or more pockets 22 on the sides of the container 21. One of such pockets is used for containing balls, tees and other small articles. It is sometimes desirable to open the top of the pocket to get a certain ball which may be on'top and at other times, it is frequently desirable to obtain access to the lower portion of the pocket to get tees or other articles. It will be seen that with slide fasteners as heretofore used for closing such pockets, in order to get a small article at the bottom of the pocket, it is necessary to move the slider the full length of the fastener and remove a large number of golf balls, in order to get to the bottom of the pocket. With my invention, however, the

'lower slider 23 may be lifted a slight amount and access obtained to the lower part of the pocket While the upper part vof the slit remains closed thereby preventing any balls from coming out. Also the upper slider 24 may be moved downwardly to open the upper part of the slit.

While I have in this application specifically described one embodiment which my invention may assume in practice, it will be understood that this embodiment is merely for the purposes of illustration and description and that various other forms may be devised within the scope of my invention as defined in the appended claims.

What I claim as my invention is:

`1. In a fastening device, a pair of fastener stringers, continuous series of cooperating fastener elements arranged in uniformly spaced relation along said stringers and a plurality of sliders mounted on said elements for progressively interlocking the same during relative movement of the sliders away from each other and for disengaging said fastener elements during movement of said sliders toward each other, said sliders mounted on such elements in such a manner that either can be moved substantially entirely over the same series of elements.

3. In a fastening device, a pair of fastener stringers, a continuous series of cooperating fastener elements arranged along the adjacent edges of said stringers, lsaid fastener elements adapted to be progressively engaged or disengaged in either direction of said series, a slider engaged on each end of said series either of which is movable toward the opposite end for progressively disengaging the fastener elements, said sliders mounted on such elements in such a manner that either can be moved substantially entirely over the same series of elements and a pair of separate stop members arranged on each end of said series of elements to permit separation of the stringers at either end.

4. In a fastening device, a pair of members to be fastened, a continuous series of cooperating fastener elements on the edges of said members, said fastener elements adapted to be progressively engaged or disengaged in either direction of said series, a slider arranged'on each end of said series of elements when the fastening device is closed, said sliders mounted on such elements in such a manner that either can be moved substantially entirely over the same series of elements to enable opening of the fastener from a plurality' of points, and stop members at each end of said series of elements to prevent movement of said sliders from the elements.

5. A fastening device for closinga slit in a receptacle comprising a continuous series of cooperating fastener elements arranged along adjacent edges ofthe slit, said elements adapted to be progressively engaged or disengaged in either direction of the series, two sliders mounted on said elements in such a manner that either can be moved substantially e'ntirely over the same series of elements to provide maximum opening from either end or both movable from opposite ends of the fastener until they are in abutting relation to enable opening of the slit from both ends, and stop members at each end of said series of elements to prevent movement of said sliders from the elements.

CHARLES B. 

